Digital Commons Network^™

New Results And Lessons Learned From The Move-Ii And Move-Iib Cubesats, Lucien Volk, Rosalinde Borrek, Nicolas Zischka, Johannes Koch, Isha Sharma, Matteo Nardini, Linda Holl, Simon Gruber, Florian Schummer, Jonis Kiesbye, David Messmann, Martin Lülf

Small Satellite Conference

This paper covers the operations and lessons learned for the MOVE-II and MOVE-IIb satellites. Both are 1U CubeSats, with their purpose being hands-on education for students of all technical fields related to aerospace. The hardware of the spacecraft consists of a commercial on-board computer and an electrical power system, while all other systems, including the software, were designed by the student team. The MOVE-II CubeSat was successfully launched on December 3rd, 2018 and remains active in orbit to this day with almost daily commanding. The operations were full of surprises that pre-launch simulations did not foresee. With on-orbit data, we …

Design Of 6u Nanosatellites In Formation Flying For The Laser Crosslink Mission, Geuk-Nam Kim, Sang-Young Park, Han-Gyeol Ryu, Young-Eon Kim, Suyong Choi, Joohee Lee, Sungmoon Lee, Seuggwon Jeon, Sehyun Seong

Small Satellite Conference

With a recent growth in the volume of spaceborne data, free space optical (FSO) or laser communication systems are attracting attention, as they can enable super-high data rates faster than 1 Gbps. The Very high-speed Inter-satellite link Systems using Infrared Optical terminal and Nanosatellite (VISION) is a technical demonstration mission to establish and validate laser crosslink systems using two 6U nanosatellites in formation flying. The final goal is to achieve a Gbps-level data rate at a distance of thousands of kilometers. To establish space-to-space laser communication, the payload optical axes of each satellite should be precisely aligned during the crosslink. …

Satellite For Estimating Aquatic Salinity And Temperature (Seasalt) A Payload And Instrumentation Overview, Shreeyam Kacker, Mary Dahl, Albert Thieu, Cadence Payne, Kerri Cahoy, Paul Fucile, Viviane Menezes, Sean Mccarthy

Small Satellite Conference

The Satellite for Estimating Aquatic Salinity and Temperature, or SEASALT, is a 6U CubeSat designed to acquire coastal images to measure Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and to develop and utilize an algorithm to estimate Sea Surface Salinity (SSS). SSS can be retrieved in coastal zones by utilizing atmospherically corrected optical images to retrieve remote sensing reflectance (Rrs). Rrs and SSS can then be empirically related through algorithms specific to different aquatic bodies. Current satellite instruments used for SSS calculations, such as MODIS and VIIRS, have limited revisit times and low spatial resolutions that make it challenging to implement SSS retrieval …

Via-Sees: Variability In Atmosphere From Solar Energetic Electrons, Matthew B. Leonard, Katlynn Vicuña, Haile T. Brown, Sean P. Moroney, Andrew X. Vu, Yanan Zeng, Kenny H. Son, Nalu Clemons, Stephan Devis

Small Satellite Conference

Variability In Atmosphere from Solar Energetic Electron Study (VIA-SEES) is a hybrid science mission and technology development campaign from the Earth and Planetary Exploration Technologies (EPET) program at the University of Hawai’i. It is oriented around establishing a direct correlation between Solar Radiation Events (SREs) and Variability in Atmospheric gases, specifically Nitric and Nitrous Oxide, as well as Ozone. The mission is intended to fly on a 3U CubeSat and will collect a data set which is multimodal. To achieve robust performance, a variety of techniques are employed to make the science data set easier to interpret by an analyst. …

The Maker's Cubesat: Increasing Student-Lab Capabilities In The Design, Integration & Test Of The Alpha Cubesat, Joshua Umansky-Castro, Yaw Tung Tan, Eleanor Glenn, Lauren Greenhill, Jenny Wen, Mason Peck, Andrew Filo, Alex Burke

Small Satellite Conference

Alpha is a 1U CubeSat developed at Cornell University that deploys a ChipSat-equipped free-flying light sail into LEO. While the payload is rather unique, the spacecraft that deploys it is designed to be adaptable and scalable to future student-led missions. Technology demonstrations include a 3D-printed chassis, entirely commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) electronics, an Iridium modem that bypasses the need for ground-station hardware, and magnetorquer-only spin-stabilization and pointing. This paper details the driving factors behind Alpha’s novel architecture with a focus on the affordable methods developed for design verification and optimization. Drawing inspiration from the maker community, the lab acquired a suite …

University Of Hawaii's Spaceflight-Ready, Low-Cost, Open-Source, Educational Artemis Cubesat Kit, Aksel Sloan, Kelly Ngo, Chris Amendola, Luke Clements, Evan Takushi, Amber Imai-Hong, Frances Zhu

Small Satellite Conference

The Artemis CubeSat Kit is a spaceflight-ready, low-cost, educational 1U CubeSat kit, which acts as a foundation enabler in aerospace engineering education and commercializing small satellites. The hardware kit accompanies a standalone "Spacecraft Mission Design" curriculum in the public domain, which includes a self-guided course outline, textbook, and digital lab modules. Funded by NASA's Artemis Student Challenge Program, the Kit is developed and maintained by students attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa and supervised by the Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory (HSFL). The purpose of the Artemis CubeSat Kit and accompanying curriculum is to provide educational accessibility for university-level students …

Identifying And Overcoming Challenges In High School Cubesat Programs, Lucas Ribeiro, Zichang Wang, Khoi Dinh, Nicolas Makovnik, Aarush Sivanesan, Kareem Jaber, Nikhil Kalidasu

Small Satellite Conference

This paper analyzes the various problems high school CubeSat organizations face, as well as their potential solutions. We conducted a case study of various high school CubeSat organizations from around the United States, interviewing them about their mission goals, organizational structure, funding sources, and other relevant information. We found that the three most common significant problems faced by these CubeSat teams were a lack of student training, turnover, and time commitment constraints. By comparison, a lack of funding and access to mentors were not expressed as the most significant problems for any of the groups. Teams shared their solution to …

Statistical Analysis Of Lessons Learned From University Satellite Projects In Japan, Yoshihiro Tsuruda, Masahiro Furumoto, Kikuko Miyata, Mengu Cho, Toshinori Kuwahara, Yukihito Kitazawa

Small Satellite Conference

University Space Engineering Consortium (UNISEC) is a non-profitable organization established in 2003 with the purpose of supporting the “ realization of practical space engineering activities, ” and providing support to universities and research institutions in Japan. UNISEC has accumulated practical experiences and achievements from more than 80 micro- and nano-satellite projects of the corporate partners, which also includes the two world-first-CubeSats launched in 2003. Following the recent drastic increase of academic and commercial space development and utilization activities all over the world, UNISEC has recently conducted a survey on the lessons learned of safety and mission assurance of these satellites …

Program Management For Sustainable University Cubesat Programs Based On The Experience Of Five Generations Of Cubesat Projects, Birds Program, Mengu Cho, Mariko Teramoto, Takashi Yamauchi, George Maeda, Sangkyun Kim, Hirokazu Masui

Small Satellite Conference

BIRDS program is a university CubeSat program whose primary mission is capacity building of non-space faring countries. It has been run by Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan, where a group of foreign and Japanese students designs, builds, tests and operates CubeSats. The program started in 2015. Roughly every year since 2017, BIRDS program delivered and launched multiple CubeSats from International Space Station. In total, the program generated 17 CubeSats in five generations. The satellites have been designed in a way so that even satellite beginners can go through the satellite system life cycles from the mission definition to the operation …

Project Poke: Developing A Stem Community To Offset Learning Loss Amidst Covid Pandemic Through Aerospace Technologies Project-Based Learning In Hawaii's K-12 Classrooms, Kelly Ngo, Aksel Sloan, Christopher Amendola, Luke Clements, Amber Imai-Hong, Frances Zhu

Small Satellite Conference

Project POKE (Providing an Opportunity for the Keiki in Engineering) is a unique opportunity for middle and high school keiki (‘children’ in Hawaiian) in Hawaii to gain hands-on aerospace experience through interaction with a 1U CubeSat kit. The focus of the project is to build a STEM community based on collaboration and project-based learning to offset learning loss amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The Project POKE program includes an educator course, CubeSat kit, collaborative digital space, open-ended design challenge, and symposium. Middle and high school teachers concurrently participate in the program’s educator course and meet with their students to teach the …

Small Satellite Reliability Initiative (Ssri) Knowledge Base Tool: Use Case Review And Future Functionality And Content Direction, Robbie Robertson, Craig D. Burkhard, Bruce D. Yost, Catherine C. Venturini, Michael A. Johnson

Small Satellite Conference

The Small Satellite Reliability Initiative (SSRI) Knowledge Base is a comprehensive and searchable online tool that consolidates and organizes resources, best practices, and lessons learned from previous small satellite missions sponsored by NASA, other government agencies, and academia. This free, publicly available tool is available to the entire SmallSat Community.

The SSRI Knowledge Base provides vetted, high-quality sources of information on elements that are key to successful small satellite missions. These resources include SSRI working group generated documents and presentations in addition to existing guides, publications, standards, software tools, websites, and books. The Knowledge Base is fully searchable, offers downloadable …

Global Satellite Tracking Initiative: Setting Up Ground Stations To Track Satellites Around The World, Daniel Sors Raurell, Laura González Llamazares, Sergio Tabasco Tabasco, Lucille Baudet

Small Satellite Conference

The Global Satellite Tracking Initiative aims to facilitate students and young professionals setting up ground stations to download real-time data and images from satellites flying above their regions. The objective is to empower and build capacities among space enthusiasts around the world and to promote the space sector through hands-on activities and real space technologies related to satellite communications.

The Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) is an NGO that consists of a global network for students and young professionals interested in the space industry, with more than 15000 members globally from more than 150 countries. SGAC supports the United Nations …

United Nations Activities For Enhancing Access To Space, Hazuki Mori, Jorge Del Rio Vera, Wenbin Zhang, Luc St-Pierre

Small Satellite Conference

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs manages and implements the Access to Space for All initiative which aims at broadening access to space in support of the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals through cooperation between space agencies, research institutions, academia, and industry with the United Nations. This paper focuses on the activities under the Satellite Development Track, describing the different opportunities available through the initiative in the field of small satellite development and technology, such as hands-on opportunities like “KiboCUBE” in cooperation with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, providing a 1U CubeSat deployment opportunity from the International Space …

Settler-On-Settler Violence: Ritual Protocols In Youtube Street Fight Videos - Paper 1, Kelly Menzel, Tyson Yunkaporta

Journal of Indigenous Research

This is part one of a series of two papers exploring a project that was conducted by two Australian Aboriginal researchers, one male and one female, and might be described as ‘reverse anthropology’, in the same way that people sometimes refer to positive discrimination as ‘reverse racism’. But we would just call it anthropology; a tidal river is still a river when it flows back the other way. The project could hardly be acknowledged as anthropology though, as it was based on Indigenous methods of inquiry that do not yet belong to a formal discipline. Initially the goal was to …

Indigenous Americans Became Red: Racism As Justification For Exploitation Of Native Americans, Robert V. Dodge

Journal of Indigenous Research

This article presents how an admixture of humans first arrived in the western world during the last Ice Age and spread throughout both continents, developing more complex cultures and agriculture, then civilizations. The arrival of Columbus began colonization by white European countries, justified by bringing the indigenous population Christianity and European civilization. Native people were dehumanized by white settlers out of greed for their land, which was said to have been used unproductively. A contention of early British colonists was that Indians were born white but their uncivilized life prevented them from remaining so, giving them a range of hues. …

Flight Envelope Assessment Of Smallsat Aerocapture Trajectories At Venus And Mars, Jack A. Joshi, Rohan G. Deskmukh, Soumyo Dutta, Angela Bowes

Small Satellite Conference

Aerocapture is an increasingly studied orbit insertion concept for small satellite (SmallSat) missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). Compared to fully propulsive methods, aerocapture reduces the orbit-insertion propellant mass by approaching on a hyperbolic path and using the planetary atmosphere to reduce the vehicle’s velocity such that the final target orbit is achieved. This allows for an increase in payload mass delivered to orbit and a reduction in launch-to -orbit time. To analyze the feasibility at Venus and Mars, aerocapture flight envelope analysis is conducted by assessing the guidable trajectory space during atmospheric flight given entry conditions, vehicle properties, target …

Mo Services And Cfdp In Action On Ops-Sat, Dominik Marszk, David Evans, Tom Mladenov, Georges Labrèche, Vladimir Zelenevskiy, Vasundhara Shiradhonkar

Small Satellite Conference

OPS-SAT is a 3U CubeSat launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) on December 18, 2019. It is the first nanosatellite to be directly owned and operated by ESA. The spacecraft is a flying platform that is easily accessible to European industry, institutions, and individuals enabling rapid prototyping, testing, and validation of their software and firmware experiments in space at no cost and no bureaucracy. Conceived to break the “has not flown, will not fly” cycle, OPS-SAT has spearheaded many firsts in both space and ground segments. For instance, its uplink rate is four times higher than any ESA spacecraft; …

Radio-Source Tracker: Autonomous Attitude, Knowledge, And Recovery On A Radio Interferometric Swam, Erwan Rouillé, Baptiste Cecconi, Boris Segret

Small Satellite Conference

The development of satellite swarm technology offers new possibilities for space studies and comes with new challenges. Among them is the need for knowledge on the swarm topology and attitude, especially in the context of space based radio interferometry. This paper presents an algorithm that recovers the absolute swarm attitude without the need for an external system such as GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems). This algorithm uses the imaging capability of a low frequency radio interferometer in order to function like a star-tracker using the main radio sources in the sky. The recovery of the source directions for the Lost-In-Space …

Machine Learning Image Processing Algorithms Onboard Ops-Sat, Shreeyam Kacker, Alex Meredith, Kerri Cahoy, Georges Labrèche

Small Satellite Conference

We discuss the deployment of image processing algorithms developed for BeaverCube-2, a project under development between the MIT Space Telecommunications, Astronomy, Radiation (STAR) Lab and the Northrop Grumman Corporation. The algorithms were uploaded to and executed on OPS-SAT, a 3U CubeSat owned and operated by ESA with a processing payload that allows rapid prototyping, testing, and validation of software and firmware experiments in space at no cost to the experimenter. Testing these algorithms onboard OPS-SAT significantly reduces risk for future on-orbit image processing missions such as BeaverCube-2. We focus on four image processing algorithms used for cloud detection: a luminosity-thresholding …

High-Fidelity Spacecraft Thermal Modeling: Synthesis Of Stk, Spenvis, Matlab, Simulink, And Thermal Desktop Using Model-Based Systems Engineering, Michael Halvorson, Jackson Cho, Sean Farkas, Landon Boyd, Nolan Cartier, Kasey Cole, Nicholas Deangelo, Tristian Edwards, Tanner Middleton, Cole Moquin, Ben May, William Kilpatrick, Matt Taylor, Henry Tsai, Colin Cameron, Nicholas Tsolas

Small Satellite Conference

Verification and Validation (V&V) by analysis for required spacecraft Heater Wattage (HW) and Radiator Area (RA) is a rigorous, iterative procedure highly dependent on spacecraft areas, surface absorptivity, surface emissivity, orbital position, orbital attitude, and operational heat generation. The Alabama Burst Energetics eXplorer (ABEX) mission adopts a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach to analysis wherein model strengths and weaknesses are considered synergistically and integrated using SysML parametric and structural diagrams to create a System of Models (SoM). In this work, a procedure for comprehensive spacecraft thermal modeling is detailed using MBSE-centric Modeling and Simulation (M&S) practices. The SysML model is …

Small Satellite-Sized Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators For Interplanetary Science Missions, Shelly C. Mann, Angela Bowes, Rohan G. Deshmukh, Soumyo Dutta

Small Satellite Conference

To make the most of ridesharing opportunities, small satellite (SmallSat) mission designers endeavor to pack as much payload into a SmallSat-class form factor as possible. The mass and volume constraints of this smaller vehicle class present a challenge for interplanetary mission sets that require a means of achieving orbit insertion at their destination of interest. For a fully propulsive orbit insertion design, this may translate to the propellant mass being a significant fraction of the overall vehicle mass and prolonged insertion time. Aerocapture is a single quick maneuver that can significantly reduce the required propellant mass for orbit insertion. Because …

Windcube: A Cubesat Thermospheric Wind Instrument Utilizing Fabry-Pérot Interferometry, Scott Sewell, Qian Wu, Pat Zmarzly, Andrew Carlile, Alice Lecinski, Damon Burke, Mitch Jeffers, Michael Mcguirk, Caitlyn Quinn, Nir Patel, John Sobtzak, Ruth Lieberman, Karen Holland

Small Satellite Conference

WindCube is a 6U CubeSat mission selected for implementation through NASA’s HFORT program. Starting in 2022 and following ~36 months of development, integration and testing, the spacecraft will operate for ~12 months in low earth orbit to study the influence of thermospheric winds on the earth’s ionosphere. Its scientific payload is a limb viewing Fabry Pérot Interferometer (étalon) specially designed to fit into a 10cm x 10cm cross-sectional assembly. WindCube will make global maps of wind speed derived from the doppler shifted emission of the 630.0nm oxygen line (¹D > ³P), at altitudes near 250km. Projected performance includes …

The Nasa Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System Smallsat Constellation, Christopher Ruf, Hugo Carreno Luengo, Clara Chew, Mahta Moghaddam, Derek Posselt, Juan Crespo, Zhaoxia Pu, April Warnock

Small Satellite Conference

The NASA Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission consists of a constellation of eight microsatellites launched on 15 December 2016 into a common circular orbit at ~525 km altitude and 35 deg inclination. Each observatory carries a four channel bistatic radar receiver to measure GPS signals scattered by the Earth surface. Over ocean, near-surface wind speed, air-sea latent and sensible heat flux, and ocean microplastic concentration are derived from the measurements. Over land, near-surface soil moisture and inland water bodies extent are derived. The measurements penetrate through all levels of precipitation and most vegetation due to the 19 cm …

High-Energy Proton Testing Of Sensitive Electronics For Use On Modular Infrared Molecules And Ices Sensor (Mirmis) Instrument, S. Thirumangalath, E. Briede, A. Näsilä, V. Gupta, C. Boatella, H. Wojciech, V. Kletzl, R. Trops, N. E. Bowles

Small Satellite Conference

The Comet Interceptor (CI) mission is ESA's first "F" class mission, selected in June 2019. This mission consists of three spacecraft: Spacecraft A (main spacecraft), Spacecraft B1 (supplied by the Japanese space agency JAXA), and Spacecraft B2. In this paper, we highlight the Modular Infrared Molecular and Ices Sensor (MIRMIS) instrument, which is integrated into the CI Spacecraft A's scientific payload. In addition to hardware contributions from Finland (VTT Finland) and the UK (University of Oxford), the MIRMIS instrument team includes members from the University of Helsinki and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre. MIRMIS covers the spectral range of 0.9 …

A 1.5u Size 350-950nm Hyper-Spectral Camera Optical And Mechanical Design Without Mtf Degradation In The Temperature Range -100 To 300 ℃, Hanik Kim, Hyochoong Bang

Small Satellite Conference

1.5U sized hyper-spectral camera has been developed to be equipped in three-unit sized CubeSat. Even though this payload is developed for Cubesat, the optical and mechanical structure is designed for harsh environmental conditions to be equipped in the other satellite types. The optical performance of the payload is assessed using Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) in 350–950nm. The MTF is optimized with volume and MTF requirement constraints by CODE-V in the wavelength range. The constraints are 1.5U volume, the curvature ranges of fabricable aspheric design, fabrication errors, and the temperature variation in space. The 1.5U size constraint is defined to 100mm✕100mm✕145mm …

Design And Performance Of The Aero-Vista Magnetometer, Nicholas Belsten, Candence Payne, Rebecca Masterson, Kerri Cahoy, Mary Knapp, Tobias D. Gedenk, Frank D. Lind, Philip J. Erickson

Small Satellite Conference

We describe the design and performance of the magnetometer instrument for the CubeSat mission AERO-VISTA. AERO-VISTA requires in-situ vector magnetic measurements with magnetic precision and repeatability better than 100 nT at a minimum rate of 10 Hz. Our magnetometer system uses the three-axis Honeywell HMC1053 anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) sensor. As built, our instrument exhibits intrinsic magnetic noise better than 10 nTrms from 0.1 to 10 Hz, though self-interference effects degrade performance to about 50 nT to 200 nT uncertainty. The analog and mixed signal portion of each magnetometer occupies about 8 square centimeters of circuit board space and draws about …

Low Cost Sar Antenna With Wide Swath And High Ground Resolution, Hirobumi Saito, Kosei Ishimura, Takashi Tomura, Jiro Hirokawa

Small Satellite Conference

This paper describes our developments of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) antennas for low-cost, wide swath and high ground resolution (0.5-0.25m). The antennas are 1D deployable, plane slot array antennas with a wide elevation beam pattern. RF is fed to each panel with a novel patented technology, non-contact waveguide system between panels. These types of SAR antennas make feasible a newly proposed DiskSat with SAR sensor system. The SAR antenna 600MHz bandwidth in X band for 0.5m SAR resolution is made from carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) for light weight and thermal stability. Furthermore, range resolution improves with wider frequency bandwidth. …

Binar Space Program: Binar-1 Results And Lessons Learned, Fergus Downey, Stuart Buchan, Benjamin Hartig, Daniel Busan, Jacob Cook, Robert Howie, Phil Bland, Jonathan Paxman

Small Satellite Conference

The Binar Space Program is a recently formed space research and education group part of the Space Science and Technology Center at Curtin University in Western Australia. Recently launching the first CubeSat from the state, Binar-1, the team is making steps towards creating a sustainable mission schedule for research and education. The Binar-1 mission primary objective was to demonstrate the custom designed systems made by PhD students and engineers at the university. The main technology being demonstrated was the integrated Binar CubeSat Core, which compacted the Electrical Power System, Attitude Determination and Control System, and flight computer system into 0.25U. …

Initial In-Orbit Operation Result Of Microsatellite Hibari: Attitude Control By Driving Solar Array Paddles, Kei Watanabe, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Naoki Kawaguchi, Shogo Nerome, Yuki Amaki, Fumitaka Sagawa, Soichi Sato, Kenichiro Takahashi, Yuta Sasagawa, Kiyona Miyamoto, Yoichi Yatsu, Toshihiro Chujo, Saburo Matunaga

Small Satellite Conference

We have developed a 50kg class microsatellite "HIBARI". The mission of this satellite is to demonstrate a novel attitude control method for microsatellites which is called “Variable Shape Attitude Control (VSAC).” VSAC is a method using anti-torque by driving variable shape structures. HIBARI has four drivable solar array paddles, and will demonstrate VSAC.

The development of HIBARI began in 2019, and it was injected into orbit in November 2021 under the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program led by JAXA. Currently, HIBARI has completed its critical phase and paddle deployment phase, and is conducting paddle drive experiments in orbit. In paddle …

Tartan Artibeus: A Batteryless, Computational Satellite Research Platform, Brad Denby, Emily Ruppel, Vaibhav Singh, Shize Che, Chad Taylor, Fayyaz Zaidi, Swarun Kumar, Zac Manchester, Brandon Lucia

Small Satellite Conference

TTartan Artibeus (TA1) is the first batteryless, computational pocketqube satellite; its open-source hardware and software launched into low-Earth orbit (LEO) in January 2022. TA1 is a 1p (125 cm³) pocketqube built around the Tartan Artibeus Bus (TAB), which connects independently-designed modules into a batteryless, computational satellite. In TA1, TAB incorporates an electrical power supply (EPS) module that harvests solar energy into a supercapacitor, a fault-tolerant command and data handling (C&DH) module, a radio-communication module, and a configurable computational payload module.

The open-source hardware [17] and software [18] of TA1 supports independently designed modules oblivious to the batteryless nature …